Ministers will be changed after 2.5 years, claims Ashok Pattan

BENGALURU: Government chief whip in the Legislative Assembly, Ashok Pattan, created a storm on Friday when he claimed that Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala had promised that some ministers will be changed after two-and-half years.

Speaking to media persons outside the Vidhana Soudha, Ashok Pattan, considered close to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, said, “All senior Congress leaders, including Surjewala, have said that there is a proposal to rejig the cabinet afer 2.5 years. All senior MLAs can’t be made ministers at the same time. Hence, they said others will get a chance after 2.5 years”.

Further, he said, “I am a senior leader and I should have been made minister, but ministers were chosen based on caste and something went wrong there. I have told our leaders to consider seniority and loyalty, and not caste, while picking ministers. I have hopes that they will make me minister after 2.5 yeears, but even if they don’t, I’ll remain with the Congress. We have spoken to Siddaramaiah D K Shivakumar, Surjewala, K C Venugopal and all senior leaders and they have assured of making us ministers after 2.5 years. Whether the entire cabine will be rejigged or just 4-5 ministers changed is up to them”.

Pattan said there is no difference between seniors and juniors in the Congress and all are treated the same. “Those who are lucky become ministers. Everyone needs a godfather. My mother was an MLA, my father was a freedom fighter, but somehow I haven’t got the chance to be a minister. Maybe I should start doing pujas”, he remarked, giving a hint of his disappointment.

To a question on whether the CM will also be changed, he said only the Congress high command will take a decision on it. “I cannot speak on that. Only the party high command will decide about the CM”, he said.

To a query on Deputy CM D K Shivakumar’s role in Belagavi politics, Pattan said the latter is the president of the state party unit. “He is the KPCC president and does politics at the state and national levels. There is not interference in Belagavi”, he said.

On the issue of some Congress MLAs skipping Shivakumar’s Belagavi visit, he said Sathish Jarkiholi was in Mysuru at that time and that he was in Bengaluru for some personal work. “We knew about the visit, but no meeting had been called and hence we were not there. Usually, when the CM, ministers or the KPCC president arrives, we are there”, he said. He also denied talk of factionalism by Sathish Jarkiholi and said he had not invited any MLA to Mysuru.